Baltimore Sports Media Approval Ratings: Jim Hunter

Last week, Mark Viviano rode the lowest vote total so far to a respectable 79% “yea” rating. That’s about what I expected. Congrats, Mark. Something tells me “the bulldog” won’t fare as well when his turn comes up.

That’ll have to wait, though, as this week we turn our attention to that stalwart of the Orioles TV broadcast booth, Mr. Jim Hunter.

Hunter has been working with the O’s in some capacity since 1997. Presently, his main gig is working the MASN studio with Rick Dempsey, though he also handles game duties on occasion. It seems to me that he works every Sunday, but I’m not sure if that’s a matter of official policy. Either way, it might or might not have something to do with the Curse.

Hunter’s got a lot of experience behind him, including CBS Radio “Game of the Week” and Winter Olympics duties. But I’ve gotten the sense that he’s also a source of some strong opinions out there in Birdland.

So, now’s your chance to be heard. Cast a vote then explain why in the comments. Usual rules apply, of course.

12 comments to Baltimore Sports Media Approval Ratings: Jim Hunter

My god, man, how does one defend Jim Hunter? There’s honestly nothing I like about the guy except perhaps that he doesn’t trip over his own words constantly. Of course, that’s only admirable because he has so, so many words to get in there. Man never shuts up and lets the game happen. Which is fine, if you have something enlightening to say…but he doesn’t.

Seriously, when Thorne is out, and Hunter is in, especially when it’s Hunter and Buck…I turn off the sound and put on the soothing vox of Joe Angel and Fred Manfra. Who wouldn’t? It’d be like deliberately choosing burned fried chicken over a medium-rare steak with a GBD crust (that’s golden brown and delicious for you non-AB fans) just because you like chicken slightly better than steak.

Jim gets a little over excited sometimes. ok…alot of the time. on “fairly” deep fly balls you’ll hear “A HIGH DRIVE…DEEP TO LEFTFIELD…WAY BACK…” and its caught a good 15 feet in front of the warning track. or on better than good fielding plays, but certainly not great, he makes it sound like freddie bynum is a gold glover.

I haven’t voted yet because I’m honestly torn. Hunter is clearly a consummate professional and a man who’s very adaptable and very good at what he does…and yet I find him hard to relate to. I can’t figure out who he is, and that makes it very hard to let him be the guy who guides me through Birdland.

He’s not precisely a “yea” or a “nay”. In a sense that makes him the perfect subject for a poll like this, because eventually I’ve got to decide.

Nay for me. He’s a complete and utter shill…it’s all gumdrops and lollipops with this guy. I understand that he’s trying to keep his job, but it;s way too transparent at this point. The word on the street is that he’s a Yankee fan, which would make sense since he’s a Seton Hall grad. Go let him be a unabashed shill for YES…

I understand the man needs to feed his family, and maybe my dislike for him is irrational, but I just don’t like him or his work. He’s a goober.

I am a big Jim Hunter fan and always have been. I really don’t see what all of the negativity around him. Anyone that doesn’t like Hunter at least has to say this: he loves the team. Since filling Jon Miller’s shoes as the primary radio broadcaster (which, certainly was the toughest act to follow), he’s really become a Baltimore guy…practically bleeding orange and black, as Peter Schmuck said at one time. Whether they are winning in ’97 or losing 30-3, you get the feel that Jim is one of us when it comes to sticking with the O’s. Gary Thorne? Great broadcaster, but he’s a Red Sox fan. Joe Angel? Fun nicknames, but doesn’t he live in a hotel out of a suitcase in Baltimore?

By the way, Hunter does the Sunday broadcast because Thorne does radio play-by-play for Sunday Night Baseball.

So what if he does live out of a suitcase in a hotel in Baltimore? What does that have to do with anything? Still trying to figure out what that even implies.

Jim Hunter does bleed black and orange and that’s precisely the problem. He bleeds black and orange to a fault. It’s sickening. When we’re losing 30-3, do I want to hear Hunter’s bubblegum voice gee-willickering out my TV speakers? No. Hell no. I want some solemn shit to fit the mood of the game. He doesn’t know how to turn it off. Or even dial it down. He’s a fan of the club, but in a way that makes it seem like he’s sucking up to the organization. Day in and day out. Sucking.

And then it gets worse when you see him on camera. He looks like a puppet with a perma-smile being controlled by some unseen puppeteer in the background. He bounces and twitches while he talks with that fake camera-face on.

Who IS Jim Hunter?

We don’t know, because he’s not a real person. He’s a robot implanted by the Orioles to make everything seem dandy. He’s a Stepford Wife.

“he’s really become a Baltimore guy…practically bleeding orange and black, as Peter Schmuck said at one time.”

Just like DtM said….so what? Take Jim Palmer as an example. The guy loves the game and the Orioles, yet he can get away with calling a game in a less-biased way. Maybe it’s because he’s a legend, maybe he kisses Angelos’ ass, but he still ATTEMPTS to be unbiased

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